Quincy Smith, a 31-year-old Black/African American man from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was killed in a brutal sequence of events that began late on a Sunday night. His mother later expressed her profound grief, saying, "That was torture the way he did my son. I never got to see my baby when he left the world. That hurt me the most."
On the evening of August 4, 2024, around 11:30 p.m., Smith arrived at a location near 84th and Carmen.
There, he confronted his long-term, on-and-off girlfriend, who was with a 20-year-old man named Daeshaun Graves. A verbal dispute between Smith and Graves escalated into a physical fight. The altercation turned deadly when Graves produced a firearm and shot Smith, who fell back into a silver minivan. Graves then drove away from the scene in the stolen van with Smith’s body still inside, partially hanging out of the vehicle.
About an hour later, in the early morning of August 5, police and firefighters were called to a vehicle fire near 34th and Auer. After the blaze was extinguished, they discovered human remains inside the burned-out minivan. The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the remains belonged to Quincy Smith. An autopsy determined his cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the head. His body also had third-degree burns covering about 95% of it, and his death was ruled a homicide.
The investigation quickly led police to a suspect. On August 7, 2024, officers arrested Daeshaun Graves at a rented Airbnb. At the time of his arrest, Graves had visible burn injuries on his arms. His girlfriend, Jakiya Gates, was also arrested at the scene.
Prosecutors charged Graves with multiple felonies, including first-degree reckless homicide, use of a dangerous weapon, arson, mutilating a corpse, and several counts of bail jumping. Gates was charged with harboring a felon for allegedly renting the Airbnb so she and Graves could hide from law enforcement.
The case against Jakiya Gates was ultimately resolved when the charge against her was dismissed in exchange for her testimony at Graves' trial. She testified that Graves had admitted to the killing.
In March 2026, a jury found Daeshaun Graves guilty of first-degree reckless homicide, four counts of felony bail jumping, arson, and mutilating a corpse. The conviction also included a second homicide charge for the shooting death of his uncle weeks before Smith's murder.
The case concluded in July 2026, when Graves was sentenced to serve 60 years in prison, to be followed by 20 years of extended supervision.
